Man gets 1 year in jail, 3 years probation in Soquel car chase

SANTA CRUZ - A man who led Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies on chase in a stolen truck in November was sentenced Wednesday to one year in County Jail and three years of probation.

Judge Ariadne Symons also ordered Jeremy Richard Allen, 36, to enter a residential drug treatment program for a minimum of six months upon his release from jail.

She warned him that his actions were incredibly dangerous and could have warranted a prison sentence.

Allen was arrested in November after a sheriff's deputy spotted him driving a stolen Toyota pickup on Soquel Drive and Porter Street a little before 9 p.m. The deputy tried to stop Allen, but he failed to yield, driving through the Soquel and Capitola areas at speeds of up to 60 mph.

The truck eventually ran out of gas and Allen tried to flee on foot but was stopped by a sheriff's K-9.

The truck was determined to have been stolen from a Capitola tow yard. Symons ordered Allen to pay restitution to the tow yard as part of his sentence.